Latch construction



Aug. 2, 1938. F W, MCCORMICK 2,125,515

LATOH` CONSTRUCTION Filed May 18, 1936 i4 'ja l @i -l 72) 17a 6673 :s

1o 7 ewig- TgdA/J. MCCOTmL Patented Aug. 2, 1938 UNirE emes UTENT FERTEApplication May 18,

2 Claims.

This invention relates generally to a latching mechanismr and moreparticularly to a latch which is capable of being used on either righthand or left hand doors. Also, the construction permits attachment of myinvention to either the offset type or the ush type of doors or thelike.

One of the main features of my invention resides in the specificconstruction of the individual parts plus their arrangement whereby theseveral parts coact together to produce the necessary and desirablefunctions of a durable and long-lived latch. That is, although there areonly six parts in the latch proper, nevertheless it performs itslatching functions eiiiciently.

Another very important feature lies in the construction of the latchbolt per se, this latch bolt or plate having a return bent portionthereon whereby its camming nose is curved to the proper degree duringits manufacture. Also, this novel A latch bolt is desirable inasmuch asthe larger sized slot required therefor is easier to stamp through thehousing.

Another feature lies in the individual construction of the camminglever, this having a square 25.A opening therein to receive a sleeve,the outward pressure of this sleeve aiding in holding these two memberstightly together. Also, the sleeve carries integrally formed spacingmeans thereon.

Another feature lies in the lateral extension of 3Q-s the latch bolt.The edge of this extension rides -against the underside of the coverplate and thus any strains against the outer end of the latch, acting inthe nature of a lever of the rlrst class, are taken care of by contactbetween the rear of 3,5* the latch bolt and the bottom of the housing orbetween the extension and the cover plate. Thus the operating mechanismof the latch is not called upon to transmit any excessive forces.

Another advantage in my construction is that 40. the bottom member andthev cover of the housing have inwardly extending bosses. The lrstmentioned boss incidentally serves as a stop against excessive inwardmovement of the latch bolt whereby excessive compression of the spring45,l means is prevented. Also, this boss serves as a bearing againstwhich the camming lever engages, thus preventing frictional engagementbetween the camming lever and the latch bolt. The other boss is struckinwardly from the cover, rides 50 against the spacing member on thesquare sleeve and aids in maintaining this sleeve and the camming leveragainst axial movement.

Other advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds.

55 In the drawing:

1936, Serial No. 80,382

Fig. l is a sectional view through a door and a latch constructionembodying my invention attached thereto.

Fig. 2 is a sectional View taken along the plane of line 2 2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of my latch construction, the cover plate beingremoved.

Fig. 5 is a perspective View showing the several parts of my latch indisassembled relationship.

Fig. 6 is a perspective View of one type of my strike or keeper.

Fig. '7 is a perspective View of a Second form of my strike or keeper.

Similar numerals refer throughout the several views.

As clearly shown in Fig. 5, the housing has a bottom member I@ and sidewalls I I bent at right angles thereto, these side walls being continuedin flanges I2 having screw holes I3 whereby screws i6, see Fig. 1, maybe passed therethrough into the door I5 to maintain the housing inposition.

The bottom member Ii) has an opening I6 therethrough which is inwardlyflanged therearound at I1. The bottom member I has end walls I8 and I9,the former carrying a pin 20 headed therein at 2l A coiled spring 22encircles the rigid pin 2i). The other end wall IS is slotted at 23,this slot receiving the latch bolt therethrough.

The upper edges of the end walls I 8 and I9 have raised portions attheir central portions and lower portions 25 adjacent thereto. It willbe noted that the portions 26 are in a plane only slightly below theplane of the underside of the flanges I2 for a purpose to be described.

The latch bolt is formed of a body portion 2l of flat construction fromwhich an abutment or lateral extension 28, having an opening 29, isintegrally formed. A slot 3U is formed through the body 2l and extendsupwardly into the extension 28. The latch bolt proper is formed bycontinuing the body portion 2l, narrowed as shown at 3l, and then returnbending the same as shown at 32, this forming a rounded nose 33. SeeFigs. 3 and 5. The return bent portion 32 terminates in a concave shapeas shown at 34. 'Ihe blank of metal from which the narrow tongue ofmetal 3I is struck has two small holes pierced therethrough and aboutone-half of each of these holes remains in the finished latch bolt asindicated at Thus, the formation of extensions or burrs is eliminated atthese points.

to similar parts From the description above described it will be seenthat the latch proper is adapted to ben insorted outwardly through theslot 23 whereupon the :body portion 2l is slidably positioned againstthe bottom member lll, the opening 3U extending around the ange Il. Thepin 2i) extends through the hole 29 and serves to guide the inner partof the latch bolt. The curved end offthe opening 3B, indicated by thereference numeral 36, limits the inwardgmoveme'nt of the latch bolt andthus prevents excessive compression of the spring 22. The abutment orextension .28 extends upwardly and terminates in a plane only slightlybelow the plane of the surfaces 25. Y'

A cover member All has an opening 4l around which an'inwardly extendedflange or boss 42 extends. The ends of the Acover ware cut away at 43 toreceive the raised portions 25 previously referred to. The thickness ofthe cover plate is greater than the height of the raised portions 25 andtheV distance between the surfaces of portions 2,6 and the underside ofanges l2 less than the thickness of the said cover plate. Thus, when thecover member 40 is placed in its closed position the outer surfacethereof is slightly raised above theMplane-ofthe underside of theflanges l2 and thus the insertion of the screws [4, see Fig. l., causesthe cover plate to be forced to a, tightly closed position. When in thisposition to the underside of the cover, see Fig. 3, and thus any:pressure on the latch Vpropenwhich tends to turn the latch bolt aboutany intermediate axis, is taken fcare of by Contact between thisextension 28 and the cover or else between the bottom of the housing andthe latch bolt body. Such a condition might arise from pulling upon thehandle member without withdrawing the latch bolt. l'

As shown in Fig'. 5, numeral i6 indicates a circular body having arms41. The body 46 has a square opening 58 through which the sleeve 49passes. This sleeve member 49 is bent to shape as shown whereby it issomewhat resilient and tends to enlarge from its formed shape. Thesleeve 49 carries short extensions 5B near its juncture and theseextensions 50 serve to limit the insertion of the sleeve 139 into thecamming lever construction. The sleeve 49 is forcibly driven into thesquare hole of the camming lever construction, this camming member beingcomprised of the body member 46 and the arms 41.

The camming lever construction is inserted alongside of the body 2l ofthe latch bolt with the short end of the square sleeve 9 extending intothe opening i6 of the bottom member lill. The body 46 bears against thetop edge of the flange Il and the rear curved portion of the body lltextends into the part of the openings 3i) which is in the extension 28.This interlocking is indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 4. Thisconstruction securely holds th-e parts together whenever the latch boltis in its extended position. 'I'he cover member All, when placed in itsoperative position, has the flange 42 riding against one end of theintegrally formed stops50 and thus axial movement of the sleeve isprevented.

As shown in Fig. 2 the door I5 is offset with respeet to the frame 60.In this case a strike or keeper member 6I, having a tongue 62 and slotssee Fig. 2. The tongue 62 is bulged outwardly at t5 thus restricting thecontact area between the tongue 62 and the curved edge 33 of the latchbolt. Y l

The door I5 has an opening 66 extending therethrough and the squaredshank 61 of a handle Bil extends therethrough and slidably butnon-revcl'ubly extends into the inner squared portion cf the sleeve 4Q.VAn escutcheon plate 69 is held upon thedoork l5 by the screwsfl, seeFig. l, and receives the shouldered cylindrical portion H of the handle68. A locking washer 12 riveted upon a smaller cylindrical portion 13ofthe handle an'd thus the handle member is a complete assembled unit.:V(See Fig. 1.) Turning of the handle member in either direction causescontact-of one or the other of the camming arms 4l against the member23, see Fig. 4, and causes retraction of the latch bolt against theaction of the spring 22. As shown in Fig. 3, my latch mechanism may beapplied to a door'I'I of ush construction. In this case the strikeV orkeeper member 18 has an obtuse mefifnber 19 bulged at'80, and havingslots 8l through' which screws82 pass to hold the same against thecasing 83. See Figs. 3 and 7. The door may be swung to closed position,as shown in Fig. 3, contacting against the strike member prior to whichthe latch bolt has cammer against the tongue '59 until it snapped Vtolocked position therebehind. 2 f

From the above description it will be realized that I have invented alatch which is simple and economical to manufacture but yet one whichissturdy in character arrd positive in action. It is adaptable for eitherright or left hand doors simply by changing the same and is also capableof use on either the flush type or oiset typeof doors. Due to thesliding handle constructionltting in the sleeve 39, it will beunderstood that my construction is applicable todoorsof diierent`thicknesses. This is very desirableas -nocutting of the door oradjusting of the latch construction is necessary.

The invention is defined in theappended claims and is to be consideredcomprehensive of all forms of structure coming within theirscope.

I claim: n

1. A combined sleeve and cam member comprising a flat metal plate havingenlarged Vcentral part with cam arms extending therefrom,

said enlarged part having an opening of irregular shape therethrough, asleeve having a cross sectional shape similar to but slightly largerthan the size of said opening, said sleeve being slightly yieldableradially and located in said opening, and means for preventing themovement of said sleeve in onedirection.

2. A combined sleeve and cam member comprising a flat metal platehavingan enlarged central part with cam arms extending therefrom, saidenlarged part having a square opening therethrough, and a sleeve havinga squarefcross sectional shape, said sleeve being Iformed of sheet metaland having integral outwardly extending ears engaging said plate toprevent movement thereof in one direction.

` FRED W. MQCORMIGK.

